Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Al Kooper sets the record straight

Now THIS is hilarious.
4 at least the 1st 1/2, Al Kooper's BACKSTAGE PASSES AND BACKSTABBING BASTARDS (2008) is the funniest rockstar autobiography I've ever read. The big laffs drop off later on as Kooper's life gets more serious, but the 1st 1/2 of the book is a non-stop scream.
Kooper is 1 of the all-time greatest behind-the-scenes guys in rock&roll. Just a few bits from his resume: Played organ on Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." Produced the 1st 3 Lynyrd Skynyrd albums. Formed Blood, Sweat and Tears (& was later forced out of what was supposed to be His Band). Played French horn & organ on the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Produced the 1st Tubes album. Wrote "This Diamond Ring." Was a member of The Blues Project. Then there were his various Adventures & Super Sessions with Stephen Stills & Mike Bloomfield, etc....
You get 2 read about all this & a lot more Bsides in BP&BB -- there's stuff Kooper's done that he never even MENTIONS. He's been a busy guy since the early '60s. & he's still workin'....
You follow Kooper as he starts out as a songwriter trying 2 get something going in New York's Brill Building neighborhood. (He goes 2 great lengths 2 Xplain how the "Brill Building Sound" is a misnomer, that the Bldg. had already peaked in the '40s & '50s, & that the songwriters who came out of that area in the early '60s were in the neighborhood but not actually IN THAT BUILDING -- 1 of his goals in writing this book was 2 set the record straight about things he witnessed.)
You'll watch as Gary Lewis and the Playboys take Kooper's "This Diamond Ring" & turn it in2 what Kooper calls "a turkey milkshake" (he didn't like their version). You'll laugh as Kooper & friends watch the national charts & see "Diamond Ring" go right 2 #1 -- & all Kooper can do is laff in disbelief....
You'll B shocked as Kooper is edged out of his own band (BS&T) in an ugly power struggle that leaves grudges that last 4 YEARS....
You'll laff as Kooper gently nudges his way in2 a Bob Dylan session & ends up contributing a classic organ part on "Like a Rolling Stone" -- on an instrument Kooper barely knows how 2 play.... Then Koop finds himself in demand as a session player 4 acts who wanna get "that Dylan sound."
You'll B there in the studio as Kooper produces the 1st 3 Skynyrd albums -- & then MCA Records stonewalls Kooper 4 his producers' royalties 4 almost a year....
You'll meet a notorious music-biz mgr who collects Kooper's royalties 4 YEARS & then hasta B pursued in court....
You'll B there as Kooper plays organ on the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" & offers 2 overdub horns on the song -- & a year later gets a tape from Mick with a note that sez "Add whatever horns you want...." & Koop then blows his lungs out trying 2 get that introductory French-horn part down perfect....
& more, & more. You'll see Kooper on stage with Dylan; meeting artist Norman Rockwell 2 pose 4 a classic album cover with guitarist Mike Bloomfield; you'll see Bloomfield back out of stage appearances with Kooper MULTIPLE TIMES 4 no clear reason....; & in the midst of all this Kooper occasionally puts 2gether a few solo albums....
Things get pretty serious in places: Koop has an addiction 2 painkillers which he beats; later on he loses most of his eyesight but carries on songwriting & recording; eventually he starts getting recognized 4 all his behind-the-scenes work. As the book's cover sez, these really R the "Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor."
But the book gets a little long -- over 300 pgs. In the last 1/2 the laffs drop way off as Koop battles his vision problems & a brain tumor(!), along with some of the other Fun Parts of growing older. By the end he comes across as just a talented-but-modest down-to-earth guy who's no longer trying to make a joke of everything.
An earlier version of this book came out in the late '70s & was edited by Ben Edmonds. It's probly a non-stop scream. 4 this version, I'm tempted 2 say we coulda used less about Kooper's love life & health problems, his multiple marriages & his partying -- but there is A LOT about the '60s & '70s music-biz here that's worth checking out. & most of it's pretty freakin' funny.
There's also a pretty amazing 9-pg "selected" discography at the end that recounts mosta what Kooper's bn doing musically 4 the past 50 years. You might B suprised by summa the music he's been in on....

COMING NEXT: One-Day Music Fest!

1 comment:

R S Crabb said...

Kooper can be considered an eccentric at times. Althought considered to be behind the best Skynyrd albums, his BST album Child is Father To The man was hard for me to get into, I enjoyed his time in the Original Blues Project more. Kooper is still around and in fact on Fridays, post his ten best of the week for the Morton Report. One of kind he is.